Matylda Ciołkosz

Dr. Matylda Ciołkosz is a researcher at the Institute of Religious Studies, Jagiellonian University, specializing in the cognitive science of religion with emphases on enactivism, phenomenology, and kinesthetic experience in religious practices. Her work bridges cognitive linguistics and embodied cognition to analyze how movement shapes religious understanding, particularly within modern yoga traditions.

Her educational background includes:

• Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies from Jagiellonian University
• Master's degree in Religious Studies from Jagiellonian University
• PhD in Cultural and Religious Studies from Jagiellonian University (2019)

Dr. Ciołkosz's research centers on cognitive approaches to religion derived from the enactive paradigm and phenomenological perspectives. She investigates how repeated sensory, motor, and social experiences transform abstract religious concepts, utilizing cognitive linguistics methodologies pioneered by George Lakoff. Her primary focus lies on religious beliefs and behaviors that manifest indirectly through embodied practices, revealing deep-seated interpretive models in human cognition. Current projects explore religious concepts in Polish socio-political discourse and connections between religious imagery and kinesthetic experience in climbing communities.

Her publication record (2014-2020) demonstrates consistent innovation at the intersection of cognitive science and religious studies. Articles reveal a trajectory from theoretical explorations of religious concepts to empirical analyses of yoga practices, emphasizing movement, proprioception, and sensorimotor synchronization as meaning-creating forces. Her work consistently bridges cognitive linguistics, enactivism, and phenomenology while expanding into new domains like climbing culture.

No scientific awards were documented in the source materials.

While no formal student advising or grant activities were specified, her role as co-editor for Religions of South Asia (2017) and Studia Religiologica (2017) indicates significant scholarly leadership. Current research includes the monograph Thinking in Asana: Movement and Philosophy in Viniyoga, Iyengar Yoga, and Ashtanga Yoga (published 2022) and two new projects on religious concepts in Polish socio-political discourse and climbing communities.

Her research is conducted within the Institute of Religious Studies framework without specific laboratory or team affiliations mentioned, though her interdisciplinary approach suggests collaborative networks across cognitive science and religious studies departments.